We’ve written before about the problems with percentage-based charging — it misaligns the adviser’s incentives with the client’s interests and leads to fees that quietly compound year after year. Flat fees, by contrast, are simple, transparent, and fair.
But what about the “hybrid” model that some UK advisers are now using? On paper, it can look appealing: a flat fee for initial planning work, followed by an ongoing percentage fee for portfolio management. In practice, it delivers the worst of both worlds — great for the adviser, costly for the client.
Why? Because the upfront flat fee ensures the adviser gets paid regardless of whether you stay on as a client, while the percentage fee ties their revenue to the size of your portfolio indefinitely. Instead of aligning incentives, it doubles down on them. The adviser enjoys certainty of income and the compounding growth of your assets. The client, meanwhile, faces a higher overall cost structure with no additional benefit.
Imagine hiring a builder who charges you a fixed price to design your extension, but then insists on taking 1% of your property’s value every year you live in it. You’d laugh them out of the room. Yet in financial advice, this hybrid charging structure is quietly becoming more common.
We believe in a simpler, fairer approach. Agree a flat monthly fee for the advice you need, pay it while you continue to receive that service, and stop paying when you no longer do. Clear. Transparent. No hidden incentives.
If you want to see what genuine flat-fee advice looks like, head to our homepage — every adviser you’ll find there works on the basis we believe is fair.